Report: Pedestrian Fatalities Remain at Alarming Levels

(KNSI) — A new report adds to the growing data detailing troubling trends for pedestrian fatalities. While efforts are underway to enhance pedestrian safety, some say what’s being done right now isn’t enough.

With the growing size of trucks and SUVs, groups such as Smart Growth America have been pressuring the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to do more to prioritize the safety of pedestrians.

Smart Growth America’s Beth Osborne says speed limits keep increasing as traffic loads increase, which is part of the problem. “And we have taken this very high-speed traffic and put it through places where a driver would need a lot more time to avoid conflict.”

More distractions in cars are also taking eyes off the roads. In Minnesota in 2020, the most recent data available, distracted driving contributed to 2,612 injuries and 29 deaths.

The Minnesota Legislature recently approved a transportation bill with several related provisions, including requiring schools to teach bicycle and pedestrian safety. Osborne hopes we catch up to what the state of Washington is doing as it recently adopted a law prioritizing safety as “any project that costs more than $500,000 as a complete street, a roadway built and designed and maintained and operated for all users of the system.” That includes vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.

At the local level, she urges municipalities to incorporate any safety upgrades that fall under their authority and push policymakers at the state and federal levels to consider road changes under those jurisdictions.

More than 7,500 pedestrians were killed in the U.S. last year, which marked a 40 year high. Minnesota saw 45 pedestrian deaths in 2022, down from 56 the year before.

Last week in St. Cloud, there was a hit and run crash that injured a 66-year-old man. In that case, a 63-year-old man has been arrested and is facing charges. A pedestrian was fatally struck in April after a teenager allegedly stole a car from a parking lot and intentionally ran the man over as he was on a walking path. That suspect has been charged with first degree murder.

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MNC Reporter Mike Moen contributed to this story.

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